| The Height of Your Selflessness |
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1Thessalonians 2:19 (KJV & GNB)
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy. *After all, it is you---you, no less than others!---who are our hope, our joy, and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. Indeed, you are our pride and our joy!
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy. *After all, it is you---you, no less than others!---who are our hope, our joy, and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. Indeed, you are our pride and our joy!
In our text above, Apostle Paul referred to believers as his hope, joy and crown of rejoicing. He also called them his glory. No wonder he was willing to make sacrifices and push himself to great lengths to ensure that the gospel spread to new believers so that they were touched and blessed by God's love and power. What is your hope, joy, glory and crown of rejoicing? Does it stop with your satisfaction and comfort or does it extend to the satisfaction and comfort of others? The height of your selflessness is reflected by the extent to which you can persevere through pain, sacrifice and suffering for the sake of others. Do you realize that what caused Jesus able to endure the Cross and despise the shame that He went through was His thought of how our lives would be redeemed and blessed by His suffering and death for us?
You and I are the joy that was set before Him, Heb.12:2! Thinking about us strengthened Him to patiently go through all the pain and torture that He had to go through. It is good to think highly of yourself, but the moment that doing so inhibits your service or blessing to others, then you are thinking more highly of yourself more than you ought to, Rom.12:2. Esteem others better than yourself (Phil. 2:3) so that you can serve them. Knowing He was one with God did not stop Jesus from loving us and coming down to identify with us so that He could die for us, Phil.2:5-8. Knowing how great you are should make you more willing to serve, sacrifice and be a blessing to others. Make serving others something that brings you your greatest joy.
PRAYER FOCUS: Ask God to use you today to love, bless, sacrifice and serve others more than you have ever done before.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR READING PLAN: LEV 1-4 - See more at: http://www.cgmglobal.org/aboveonly/today.php#sthash.GSl1L1yt.dpuf
You and I are the joy that was set before Him, Heb.12:2! Thinking about us strengthened Him to patiently go through all the pain and torture that He had to go through. It is good to think highly of yourself, but the moment that doing so inhibits your service or blessing to others, then you are thinking more highly of yourself more than you ought to, Rom.12:2. Esteem others better than yourself (Phil. 2:3) so that you can serve them. Knowing He was one with God did not stop Jesus from loving us and coming down to identify with us so that He could die for us, Phil.2:5-8. Knowing how great you are should make you more willing to serve, sacrifice and be a blessing to others. Make serving others something that brings you your greatest joy.
PRAYER FOCUS: Ask God to use you today to love, bless, sacrifice and serve others more than you have ever done before.
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